“I’ll find an hour-long Swedish massage video and turn off the sound”: Why tapping genius Stanley Jordan practices guitar by soundtracking massages on YouTube

Two-hand tapping electric guitar genius Stanley Jordan has opened up on the unusual practice routine that he uses to hone his chops.

Jordan is a tapping virtuoso of the highest order. Look no further than his cover of Stairway to Heaven, played on two guitars at once, for evidence.

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Of course, such spellbinding abilities take a lot of work – and a lot of practice – and in a new interview with Rick Beato, Jordan revealed his current go-to warm-up.

He says, “The way I approach practicing, it’s a big subject. There’s a lot of things I do because there’s the technical side – the physical part of playing the instrument and all that – but there’s also a deeper inner part that is really important to me.

“I have to get to that, otherwise it’s not really musical for me. So, one of my favorite ways to practice is, I’ll go onto YouTube and I’ll find these massage videos – let’s say, like, an hour-long, Swedish massage – and I’ll turn off the sound, and I supply the music.”

It may seem like a novel approach, but for Jordan, it works. Especially as a warm-up routine, it allows him to ease into his playing, focus on slower melodies and movements, before cranking things up with the helter skelter tapping, resulting in better playing overall.

“I might play it for a whole hour, for the whole video, and that’s a great way to warm up,” he continues. “Instead of challenging myself and clenching up and playing really complicated stuff, I just play really easy stuff that’s so beautiful, and it’s so warm and so loving, full of heart.

“I’ll do that for a whole hour, and then I’ll gradually build up the speed and the complexity, so that when I’m really ready to play the more complicated stuff, I can do it in a way where my mind is caught up to my fingers, and so it’s all musical. It’s not just noodling.”

If you’re skeptical about the approach, don’t be. After all, the results speak for themselves, and if Jordan swears by the massage video approach, maybe it’s something we should all give a go.

It sounds like quite a zen practice routine, too. Far more relaxing than Mateus Asato’s seven-step warm-up drill, which the neo-soul star revealed back in 2021.

Matt is the GuitarWorld.com News Editor, and has been writing and editing for the site for five years. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 19 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. During his GW career, he’s interviewed Peter Frampton, Zakk Wylde, Tosin Abasi, Matteo Mancuso and more, and has profiled the CEOs of Guitar Center and Fender.

When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt performs with indie rock duo Esme Emerson, and has previously opened for the likes of Ed Sheeran, Keane, Japanese House and Good Neighbours.